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Online Sources/Transcript
Transcript The opening scene shows Tim as Sherlock Holmes and Moby as Watson. Tim: My dear Watson, I believe I had discovered a vital clue! It appears to be an illuminated box with astounding properties that only the sharpest scientific mind can reveal... Moby: Beep. Moby switches the light on. Tim: ...zounds! Tim: Dear Tim and Moby, can I use the Internet to do research for my school essay? From, Sidney. Sure. Until pretty recently, you had to go to the library to do any research. But with the vast amount of information now available on the Internet, more knowledge is available than us faster than ever. Moby: Beep. Tim: Well as the saying goes, you can't believe everything you read. There's a lot of information of the Internet. Seriously, a lot. An animation shows an unshaven man with a dirty shirt in a cluttered basement, typing furiously on a desktop computer. Tim: And anyone with access to the Web can add content to online forums or create their own websites and blogs. So it's true that certain online sources aren't very trustworthy. But the ones that are are just as reliable as these books. The key is knowing how to tell the difference which usually takes a bit of detective work. Moby holds up a magnifying glass. Tim: First of all, when you're on a site, ask yourself. Does it look trustworthy? If your information is coming from a reputable source, then the site should look professional. Among other things, most serious organizations and companies have some kind of logo or identifying symbol. On the other hand, most professional websites are far from professional, and looks can give that away right off the bat. But to really evaluate the trustworthiness of an online source, you've got to answer six questions. Tim holds up a notebook. Tim: First, who's the publisher? Many professional websites are edited and fact-checked, just like the most reliable printed sources. That means the information presented in them is verified to be true. In fact, quite a few online sources are simply electronic versions of print publications like encyclopedias, academic journals and newspapers so you can usually trust the information you find on them. Moby: Beep. Tim: Right. One good tip is to look at the suffix of the URL or website address. Certain endings are reserved for special groups, which can help you decide if the source is trustworthy. For instance, anything with a ".gov" suffix comes directly from the U.S. government and websites ending in ".edu" are generally associated with accredited colleges and universities. This scene shows the badge of an eagle and the badge of the book in the shield. Tim: Which brings us to our second question: who's the author? Moby: Beep? Tim: Well, how can you be sure a source is reliable if you don't know who wrote it? If you don't recognize an author's name, digging up some biological information can help you figure out whether he or she is qualified. Also, look for an email address that can be used to contact the author. If there's no name or contact info, think twice about using the source! Third question: Is the source biased? Avoid websites that are clearly opinionated, or that try to persuade you about a certain point of view. It's best to stick with websites that are objective, that means they present all sides of an issue and give facts, not opinions! This can sometimes be tricky, since many organizations have professional-looking websites and since many fact-checked sites give opinions, too. One tip is to look for an "About Us" link to find out more about the site's goals before you take their word on a particular piece of information. The fourth question is: is the source in-depth? Look for sites with plenty of statistics and links to other sources; a good sign that the author or authors really understand the topic! Moby: Beep? Tim: Well, that ties in with the fifth question: which is: is the source accurate? If you're not sure about a fact or figure, cross-check it with another source, or two or three. That means looking up the same info on other sites to see if it matches. And the sixth and final question: is the source up-to-date? Many websites tell you when they were created and the last time they were revised. The scene shows a link rot on a computer. Tim: One thing to look out for is link rot, which is when a link leads to a page that has moved or doesn't exist anymore. The scene shows the Politic Blogger. Tim: And if it's been a few years since the last update of a page you're looking at, the page's content may be irrelevant or outdated. And that closes the case on online sources. Now, off to the lab we go, Watson! Chop chop! Moby chops up the whole keyboard. Tim: You're very literal-minded, you know that? Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Engineering & Technology Transcripts Category:BrainPOP English Transcripts